"NC State" Mark & Wrigley

From Hillsborough. Meeting up with friends in Carrboro. Wrigley, a three-month-old border collie, was a gift from his family. Mark wears a brace on his foot where his talus bone was removed as a result of a car accident. Everyone in the car walked away, except him. Impact the accident had on his life? "You really do have to live life to the fullest." Perhaps an example is wearing an NC State t-shirt (not shown) in this neck of the woods? "I'm not afraid...it's a melting pot here."

(photographed behind Open Eye Cafe in Carrboro off of Main and S. Greensboro Streets in Carrboro)

Kill the Queen

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(photographs taken at 419 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill - Yates Motor Co. Bldg)

Cosmicray Hideaway

Windows on Chapel Hill art installations have sprung up on storefronts showcasing Chapel Hill's commitment to art. The works are by local artists and are scheduled for display through the end of May. Take a peek at "Crochet Ricochet Macramé Cosmic Ray Hideaway,” created by Chapel Hill sculptor and performance artist Gracelee Lawrence. It appears in the Yates Motor Co Building on Franklin Street and features North Carolina tobacco twine crocheting.

(photographs taken at 419 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill - Yates Motor Co. Bldg)

"Mom Hates Them" Marleina

"I'm covered in tattoos and it made it a little hard to fit in on campus at first," said Marleina who moved to Chapel Hill from Orlando to study at UNC. "I got my first when I was 18 and kept going from there. My mom hates them."

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(photographed on Franklin between Columbia/Henderson)

Spotted

After I took this image, the dog began barking incessantly.

(photographed at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro)

"Sending Energy" Bruce

Bruce is often seen eyes closed whirling to music Sunday mornings at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro. He's been practicing meditation for 37 years and incorporates nuances of his practice into his dancing.

While we were talking a mother walked by with a crying child. He paused in mid conversation, bowed his head, and closed his eyes. When I asked if he was okay he said, "I'm sending energy to the kid."

(Bruce designed the headpiece in the image himself from a necklace he used to wear.)

(photographed in Carrboro on Weaver Street, Carr Mill Mall)

Trippy Dream

"Flashback" is the theme for the mural that beams alongside Chapel Hill's Mellow Mushroom restaurant. The Franklin Street mural features psychedelic images and inspiration from UNC-CH vintage yearbooks. It is the largest mural in the Mellow Mushroom collection. Each Mellow Mushroom location features artwork reflected by an owner's signature style.

(photograph taken at Mellow Mushroom on Franklin street in Chapel Hill)

Ovum

Mosaic Egg Sculpture from North Carolina Botanical Garden is located at the convergence of East Main Street and Rosemary Street in Carrboro.

(photograph taken in Carrboro)

Portal to Campus

Stretching the wall of the Carolina Coffee Shop (Franklin Street), these images spring from Michael Brown's mural "Parade of Humanity" (1997). The idea for the piece originated from the pageant of people who stroll through the alley to and from the University of North Carolina campus. The mural depicts Brown's friends and local curiosities. Brown has painted 19 other murals near downtown Chapel Hill. See Towering Shades of Blue and Herculean Men in Carrboro for images of his wok. The mural is located through Porthole Alley from 138 East Franklin Street to campus.

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(photograph taken off of Franklin Street in Chapel Hill)

Moving Canvas

This is a magnified view of Mobile Mural, an art installation cloaking a Chapel Hill Transit Bus. Mary Carter Taub, an installation artist based in Chapel Hill, created the piece using beaming colors of duct tape to interpret local transit routes. The artwork is part of the Downtown Art Program, an effort to amplify local and public art throughout downtown Chapel Hill.

The in-service bus travels along various routes and is scheduled to run cloaked in artwork through March 2014.

Brick Brews

The beer mural logos were created by local artist Scott Nurkin (see "Greetings from Chapel Hill") and appear in the courtyard /alley of the legendary bar He's Not Here located at 112 1/2 W Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.

(photograph taken off of Franklin Street in Chapel Hill)

Past Gas

The vintage Pure Oil sign in Chapel Hill is a footprint of the former Pure Oil Company gas station and garage which is the same building that currently houses Fed Ex Kinkos. Prior to current tenants, the building housed a Pizza Hut. Records indicate that Pizza Hut kept the building's original structure in tact, in lieu of tearing it down, as a result of protests.

(photograph taken at 114 West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill)

Geometric Sky View

Ceiling mural at the entrance of All Day Records at 112A E Main Street in Carrboro.

(photograph taken at 112A E Main Street in Carrboro)

Herculean Men in Carrboro

The "Marathon" mural by Michael Brown (1994) was commissioned by owner, John Dimos, who operated the Greek restaurant that formerly resided in the building in which the painting appears. The mural depicts an ancient Greek marathon as if on a broken plate -- from the Greek tradition celebrating by breaking a plate. In 2012, Dimos, who owns Captain John's Dockside in Chatham County, funded the restoration of the mural.

The mural is located at the convergence of West Rosemary Street and East Main Street  in Carrboro. Its appears on the Don Jose Tienda Mexicana.

(photograph taken in Carrboro)

Towering Shades of Blue

Michael Brown created "The Blue Mural" (1989), his first in Chapel Hill, in pointillist style with the aid of student volunteers (Chapel Hill-Carborro School System) all using same-sized brushes. The mural depicts a night-time cityscape of Chapel Hill and and is based on Brown's memories of Franklin Street when he was a dishwasher at Ye Olde Waffle Shop. The Painted Walls Project restored the mural in 2009. "The Blue Mural " established Brown's reputation in the city and led to additional requests for murals in the area -- about 1 per year.

The mural is located behind shops/restaurants between Franklin Street and Henderson Streets and can be seen from the public parking lot between Rosemary Street and North Colombia Street.

(photograph taken in Chapel Hill)

Greetings from Chapel Hill

“Greetings from Chapel Hill” (2013), which wallpapers the backside of Chapel Hill's legendary bar He's Not Here, was created by local artist Scott Nurkin. The painting depicts a 1941 postcard by German illustrator Curt Teich. Nurkin, a UNC Alumnus (2000) and Charlotte native, also painted more than half a dozen murals inside the bar among others seen throughout town. He is perhaps best known for creating 19 paintings of musicians native to North Carolina -- including Nina Simone, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk – that peppered the walls of the former Chapel Hill institution, Pepper’s Pizza, which resided on Franklin Street and closed in 2013. Those paintings are now on display at the School of Music in Hill Hall on the University of North Carolina's campus.

"Greetings from Chapel Hill" is located located behind He's Not Here at 112 1/2 W Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. It can be seen from the parking lot on Rosemary Street.

(photograph taken in Chapel Hill)